Eleven Years
by RhymeAndTreason
Summary: The vampire hunter known as DEATH stands at the end of a long, long road. The final night of his career.


**This was written in "celebration" of the eleventh anniversary of the Tsukihime Remake being announced. It also serves as practice writing action and original villains, which is something I most certainly need.**

**There was originally supposed to be a second chapter. Where this one features Near Side and Tsukihime 2 characters, the second chapter would've featured Far Side and Hana No Miyako characters. However, I barely got this done in time, so I might just leave that for next year. We'll see how much I get done over the next few days.**

* * *

"It's been eleven years now, boy, hasn't it?" The voice that asked the question was elderly, and gave the impression of a man with a kind heart who had lived much too long.

"Almost to the day, yeah." Answered another voice, this one young and possessed of a cheerful tone that masked a growing weakness.

It was a clear night. A full moon hung heavy in the sky, seeming as if it were a thousand times larger than on any other night. The stars twinkled but faintly.

Below, a great castle of black stone rose from the ground. Its gothic spires intruded on the night sky, like spears piercing into some cosmic flesh. Across the ground, its sprawl was nearly equally immense. Wall after wall spreading out like ripples, containing within them guardhouses and towers and dungeons and any number of unholy things.

Sitting on a grassy hill some distance away, was a young man, watching the castle with sightless eyes. He wore loose, dark clothing, and had red bandages tied around his head like a blindfold. Beside him, there was a large white rat clad in a cape and crown.

"That may not be much at all for me, but for a human like you, that's quite a long time, isn't it?" Said the King of Rats.

"More than a third of my life," replied the assassin feared across Europe as DEATH himself.

"And you've no regrets?"

"None at all. Maybe I haven't made any difference in the end, but I can't say I think it was wasted time. I chose this life, and even if I could, I wouldn't change it. Besides," he added, glancing at the castle's tallest tower, which from where he was sitting seemed to cleave the moon in two, "I've still got one more chance."

"So you do."

And having said all that needed to be said, DEATH climbed to his feet and started walking.

"The things we do for love," he muttered as he went.

* * *

No candles lit the castle halls. Little moonlight passed through what few windows there were. Darkness filled the old stone halls like a choking smog.

The shadows danced as the castle's inhabitants rushed about. They well knew that DEATH was coming, and were taking every possible precaution. And yet, despite all this motion, not one trace of life existed within these walls. Nothing but walking corpses in this godforsaken place.

The castle was large, its guards powerful and many. Every entrance was watched. Countless traps were set, ready to bring any careless intrusion to a messy end.

Not one among the dead slowed DEATH at all. Not one among the dead could stand before his assault.

DEATH went sight unseen, flashing from one hiding place to the next faster than any eye could track. Anyone in his way was dust before they even knew what was happening. No barrier blocked his way; one sweep of his knife felled great steel doors as easily as vampires.

He stopped at the bottom of the central spire. He looked up the staircase and sighed. He brushed the dust from his sleeves, re-affixed his blindfold, muttered about how exhausting ascending the stairs was going to be, and kept waiting.

Shortly thereafter, the King of Rats appeared from a heretofore unnoticed hole in the wall.

"Your target waits at the top of this tower. You know that. What are you waiting for"

"What is this, a video game? Am I a Belmont? Anyway, if there're any vampires aside of him strong enough to pose a threat, then they'll be in-between here and there. Wouldn't some backup be nice?"

"You won't get any from me, boy. It's not as if I can fight."

"Well, that's a shame. But actually, I'm not the only vampire hunter on the prowl tonight. Why did you think I waited so long when I've got so little time left? Enhance'll be along soon-"

And, as if on cue, a shotgun blast rang out from somewhere in the distance.

"And Barthomeloi too. I'm planning to be long gone by the time she reaches this far in, but she'll make a good distraction."

"If she doesn't kill you first."

"If she doesn't kill me first. Louvre all over again, isn't it? Oh, and I called in a favour from Strout. Sumire, too, but who knows if that drunkard will actually show up? And Ciel will be here soon, too."

"Right now, actually!" Coming up the hallway right behind them was a blue-haired young woman in a nun's habit, her French-accented voice ringing clear.

"Ah, hey, Ciel." Greeted DEATH.

"Fancy meeting you here, Bow," nodded the King of Rats.

"It's good to see you again," Ciel smiled, "and fancy meeting _you _here, 'Merem.' Could the real Crown not make it?"

"He's following another lead at the moment. Lady Windup, too."

Ciel pinched the bridge of her nose, "Windup? On her own? How much damage control are we expecting to have to do?"

"Quite a bit, I'm afraid."

"Gah. What's that idiot thinking, letting the Right Arm off her leash like that?" She growled.

"Ah, but forget about that," she said, smiling at DEATH, "I'm glad you haven't gone and gotten yourself killed yet. Even with all the dumb shit that stupid vampire has you doing."

"Ah, most of that I did on my own, I think."

"Hmph. I still don't see why you're wasting what little time you have on that woman. Anyway, I'm sure I'm not the only person you've called for help. Who else do I have to worry about?"

"Like I just finished telling the King, Enhance, Strout, Sumire if we're lucky, and Barthomeloi if we're too slow." With each name, Ciel's grimace deepened.

"So a bunch of good-for-nothing vampires and the most unreasonable magus the Clock Tower has to offer. What fun," she said venomously.

"I thought you and Enhance were friends," DEATH noted, seeing no reason to bother to defend the other two vampires. There was no love lost between him and Strout, and as much as he and Sumire got along and as powerful as she was, she really was good-for-nothing.

"He's still a good-for-nothing ne'er-do-well."

DEATH shrugged.

From nowhere, a strange, oppressive feeling began foul the air. Ciel and DEATH both dropped into combat stances, wary of whatever the source might be.

The darkness quivered.

The shape of a young girl no older than fourteen materialised, sitting on the stairs. She wore a black dress, and her dark hair had blonde locks braided into it.

"Oh, and I guess we have her with us, too," DEATH sighed, equally as exasperated as surprised by the Eclipse Princess' sudden entrance.

"Is that any way to greet your sister-in-law?" Altrouge Brunestud smirked.

"That depends on if you actually plan to help."

"Who, me? Oh, no, I'm only here to watch. You are _such _an entertaining actor, you know."

"And you're quite the pain in the neck, _nee-san _."

Altrouge merely laughed.

"I did bring your friend with me, of course." She said, and as if from nowhere, a dour-looking man in dark armour appeared, leaning his back against the wall.

"'Friend' might be a little bit of an exaggeration," commented DEATH.

Rizo-Waal Strout scoffed, "More than a little."

Another shotgun blast shook the air, nearer this time, and shortly thereafter a stubbly, white-haired man in a red coat stride down the corridor.

"Yeah, just about figured I'd see you here," sighed Enhance, gesturing at DEATH, "but this is quite a party - hey, Bow! - you've got there."

"No reason not to go all-out on my last dance," DEATH shrugged.

"Last dance, huh? You retiring?"

"Dying, in fact," interjected Altrouge, dissonantly blithe.

"Oh, damn." Enhance winced.

Ciel clutched her arm and averted her eyes, staring instead at her feet.

The King of Rats sighed.

"And good riddance," muttered Strout, earning him a few glares.

"Well," interrupted the King of Rats, "the gang's all here, as they say. Shall we go on?"

"Ah, one second," said DEATH, glancing up the stairs. And indeed, exactly one second afterward, a little black cat padded down the steps. A bell, tied to a ribbon around her neck, jingled with each step.

DEATH crouched in front of her and cocked his head as if listening intently.

"..."

"Ah, is that so? Thanks for the help, Len."

"..." Len nodded acknowledgement.

"Ah, and just in case I don't see you again… have you found anyone yet? Someone who can take over from me as your master? I mean, I know it'll probably take longer tha-"

"..."

"Really? That fast? Who'd you… Oh, a witch in Fuyuki… no, back home in Misaki? Huh. That's a pretty weird coincidence. She sounds nice, though. I'm sure you'll be happy with her. And it's good that you'll be near enough to be able to visit Hisui whenever you want to, you two always did get along. Well…"

In a strange sort of icy flourish, the cat was gone, replaced by a small girl. She reached forward, and pulled DEATH into a tight hug.

"Yeah… goodbye, Len," said DEATH, tears leaking out from beneath his blindfold.

"Touching. Are we planning to kill the Ancestor any time this century?" Strout muttered.

"Shut up," whispered Ciel sharply.

Len pulled away, returned to cat from, and left, disappearing into the darkness.

DEATH stood up, back straight, and reached under his blindfold to wipe away his last tears.

Then he turned to face his allies, his face set like stone.

"Alright. Our target's on the second floor from the top. Between us and them, there's about five Dead Apostles. Not Ancestors, but still dangerous. Two mages specialising in flesh and metal manipulation respectively, one mage with a thing about birds she definitely didn't steal from Blackmore, and two knights. Oh, and however many Dead. Enhance, I know you're just here to kill the Ancestor, but please try not to cause too much damage - I need something out of the treasury, which is on the floor right above where the boss'll be."

"What is this, a video game? No promises, but I'll try," Enhance nodded.

"Oh, and don't kill each other. Or me."

"No promises."

"No promises."

"I can't promise I won't kill the vampires."

"... Good enough, I guess! Let's get going."

DEATH turned around and started walking up the stairs. Altrouge stood up from her seat on the stairs and stepped aside to let the hunters pass. First DEATH - the King of Rats trailing behind - then Ciel, then Strout, then Enhance.

As he passed her, Enchance drew his sword and stabbed Altrouge straight through the center of her forehead.

Altrouge, absolutely unhurt, merely gave him a withering look in return.

Enhance withdrew his sword and shrugged.

"Can't blame a guy for trying."

* * *

Each floor, the stairway ended in a large open room, with the stairway up to the next floor on the far side - and, taking advantage of this, each room was full of defenders. However, only mindless Dead blocked their way, and were slaughtered with ease. It took until a floor nearly halfway up for the group encountered anything other than Dead. On that floor, between them and the stairway, stood a silent knight in black armour.

Strout cut him in half before he could even move.

The armour clattered to the ground, empty.

"Ah. So it's going to be like that, is it?" He muttered darkly.

And instantly ten more hollow knights descended on him, and each was cut apart just as fast.

The fallen pieces, moving as if on invisible strings, merely reassembled themselves and continued to attack.

This time, each one was felled by a black key thrown by Ciel before Strout had a chance to move.

"Stop playing around, idiots," muttered DEATH, flashing between the already-reforming armours, and stabbing his knife into each one. Each one crumbled to dust.

Nothing appeared to replace them.

"What, you're just going to give up before I even got a chance to play?" Complained Enhance.

He got no response.

"Uh, Hellooooo?"

"Just wait," said Ciel.

And on cue, a metal plate on the wall began to flow and warp like liquid, forming into a humanoid figure - a wizened and grey vampire in complex robes.

"Do you, fool that you are, desire death so badly, Knight of Vengeance? Very well then," announced the vampire in a pompous voice,"I will be your death, stripling. I-"

There was a deafening bang as Enhance blew the vampire's head off with his holy shotgun, then cut the remains into ribbons with his demonic sword.

"Underwhelming," he commented, "what's even the point of having so many people here, if the opposition's so weak?"

DEATH shrugged, "better safe than sorry. And I doubt the Ancestor is gonna be such a pushover."

"Whatever," Said Enhance, making his way towards a nearby window, "I'm going on ahead. See you at the top!" And so saying, he leapt out, sprouted a pair of misshapen wings, and disappeared upwards.

DEATH rolled his eyes.

"See you around, I guess."

"Idiot," said Ciel.

The next few floors were filled only with Dead, which did not so much as slow the seasoned vampire hunters down. DEATH and Strout cut them apart as easily as breathing, while Ciel skewered them from across the room with her Black Keys.

Five floors up, the roof suddenly caved in as they were walking across the room. A vampire clad in white armour came crashing down on their heads flailing a mace, followed shortly by a vampire with white, dove-like wings. DEATH, at the centre of the collapse, was only barely able to dodge the falling rubble, and while he was able to dodge the mace blow, too, he was thrown across the room by a follow-up punch.

The same instant, the winged vampire dove at Strout and began to claw at his hands with her talons, forcing him to keep his sword sheathed. Every time he reached for his sword, the winged vampire would slash at his hand and push it away. He grappled with her using his other hand, trying to force her away, but found no success.

The vampire with the mace moved to continue his assault on DEATH before he could recover, only for a black key to embed itself in the ground in front of him. He turned to face the direction it came from, and was met with three more black keys slashing across his face as Ciel leapt across the room, three keys in either hand.

DEATH picked himself off the ground and lunged at the knight, who responded by grabbing Ciel and hurling her at him. DEATH, without slowing down, sidestepped safely out of the way, and continued his approach, while Ciel jammed a black key into the floor and dragged herself to a stop before immediately leaping back towards the knight. The knight, angered, charged towards them, swinging his mace wildly, only for both to dodge again. Ciel dropped low and slid under his reach, while DEATH leapt over, somersaulting upside down as he went. The knight spun around to face them, but it was too late. With a flashing sweep of DEATH's knife, his head was separated from his shoulders. DEATH landed perfectly on his feet just as the vampire's remains collapsed into dust.

Immediately, Ciel turned her attention to the second vampire, still grappling with Strout. A well-placed black key ended that, flying between them and forcing the birdlike vampire away. Strout wasted no time in taking the opportunity, and in the barely more than a second the vampire was forced away, he had drawn his sword. Knowing that with the attentions of all three vampire hunters upon her her death was drawing near, the bird like vampire began to flee. Her wings beat a panicked tempo as she desperately attempted to flee upwards, where she believed she could not be quickly followed.

DEATH ran forwards… and then ran upwards. His legs blurred, beating on the wall with enough speed to defy gravity.

The birdlike vampire could only watch helplessly as DEATH quickly caught up with her and, as soon as he was level with her, shoved off the wall straight towards her, his knife tracing a path through the air straight towards her heart. At the last possible second, she regained enough composure to attempt to twist out of the way, and succeeded in keeping DEATH's blade from reaching her heart. Instead, as he passed by, he severed her left wing, and she began to plummet.

The arc of DEATH's jump carried him over to the far wall, from which he again kicked off, this time pushing himself downward towards the fallen vampire. She responded by pointing her remaining wing at him, from which shot razor-edged feathers, flying like bullets. In her panic and desperation, however, each feather went wide, the closest ones only barely grazing DEATH's skin.

DEATH landed on the ground several metres below with a forward roll, accompanied by a soft rain of ashes. He stood up and brushed the ash out of his hair.

Then he looked up, realised that not only the floor above but also the next few floors had crumbled away, and that there was no easy way up.

"Oh," he said flatly.

A shotgun blast rang out from somewhere above.

"Maybe that idiot will have finished everyone off by the time we get up there," said Ciel as she, without stopping to look behind her, took off upwards, jumping from wall to wall.

Strout made a small 'hmph' noise and went after her, in much the same way.

"Damn it," muttered DEATH, backing up to get a running start at the wall.

* * *

Another few floors up after the collapsed section, and the staircase ended in a hallway that stretched in a circle around a room at the centre of the tower. DEATH ran a brief lap around the circle, confirming that there seemed to be nothing different about any of the other angles, except that there were four doors leading inwards, one in each cardinal direction.

As he was relating this to his companions, however, there was deafening crash, and a vague red shape was thrown through the wall and then, before anyone could react, through the outer wall too, hurtling out into the night.

DEATH's head turned to follow Enhance's trajectory as he fell towards the castle grounds below, and he noticed that it was enveloped in occasional bursts of multicoloured light. If he squinted, he could just about see a battalion of magi doing battle with the Dead below. Lorelei Barthomeloi had arrived.

Meanwhile, Ciel and Strout looked inwards, at the room Enhance had been thrown out of, and saw a nightmarish growth of pulsating red flesh covering every surface. Scattered across the disgusting mass, there were festering burns and melting cuts where Enhance's holy shotgun and demonic sword had struck.

Strout stepped inside, and immediately jammed his sword into the floor and began to tear apart the fleshy mass. Ciel followed suit with thrown black keys enchanted with a cremation rite - the places they struck burst into flames.

DEATH entered the room last, and his eyes widened. His vision swam and danced. Lines and points, seemingly endless in number, quivered and shifted. His eyes narrowed with a new understanding of what he was seeing.

"Hey, get back!" He warned his partners, "It's some kind of bootleg Nrvnqsr! You're not doing any real damage to it-"

But his warning came too late. Disfigured shapes burst out from the flesh in a spray of blood - misshapen humanoids, animalistic creatures, and abominable tentacles crawled forth, lashing out wildly and sightlessly.

One tentacle wrapped itself around Strout's legs before he could react; followed quickly by another and another and another, a doglike monstrosity leapt upon Ciel toppling her to the ground, and a human-shaped creature shambles towards DEATH, swiping at him with its claws. He jumped backwards, putting some distance between himself and the monster that its slow pace would not quickly close.

He could see the death of this creature as clear as day. The problem was killing it would accomplish nothing. This thing might not be as powerful and incomprehensible as Nrvqnsr had been, but it was still a conglomerate of innumerable lives that he could not easily be rid of.

"What do you think? Do you like this little creation of mine?" Asked an unfamiliar voice.

DEATH looked up and saw a horrifying face forming out of the meat on the far wall, laughing and gloating.

"I made it especially for you, you know. I quite painstakingly crafted it out of hundreds of lives, each of which maintains a degree of individuality, and each of which is bolstered by the best regeneration I could endow it with. I've studied your powers, you see. There's only so much one can learn from the outside looking in, but I do believe I've developed a quite competent understanding. I saw your inefficiencies and I decided that, as you called it, 'a bootleg Nrvnqsr' would serve best. Am I correct in thinking that you were only able to slay the Beast Professor because he was foolish enough to gather all his lives in one?"

DEATH grimaced. It was true - he'd only been able to kill Nrvnqsr Chaos because the vampire had fused all his lives together into one all-powerful life: the 999th Beast, which, it turned out, was no more immune to death than any other life. He had fought the chaos a second time, and that time, too, he had only won because she had let him.

"Oho. So I _was _right. Well, I am not such a fool. Do not think it will be so easy. And it does an admirable job with your partners, too. The Black Knight's much-vaunted Neardark can't do much to something that can regenerate so effectively as this. I may not be able to kill him, with his thrice-damned curse of time, but a stalemate will do. As for the Vampire Killer and the Burial Agent? Ha! Don't make me laugh. They-"

"Oh, shut up," muttered Ciel, as the dog-creature that had been attacking her and which she had grabbed and thrown collided with the face. Both burst from the force of the impact, spraying blood everywhere, while Ciel, unperturbed, rubbed the blood on her hands off with her habit.

At the same time, Strout freed himself of the tentacles binding him, cutting them to shreds and, barely bothering to look, also struck down several other monsters around him, including the one that had been advancing on DEATH. The Black Knight, no longer caught flat footed and now able to move freely again, wasted no time in putting every single monster that spawned to the sword. He blurred across the room with speed only a vampire could muster, cutting apart every creature as soon as they appeared. The severed flesh fell to the ground and was absorbed back into the mass from whence it had come, only to rise again.

"Hey, Tohno-kun," said Ciel, "I sure hope you were planning on killing this thing sometime soon. We're getting nowhere fast, you know."

DEATH sighed, and looked downwards. His vision was coated in black and red, watching lines and points dance across his sight. He jammed his foot into one of the points, to no discernible effect, and shrugged.

"Yeah, I'd love to, but this thing isn't going to die that easy," he said, pausing briefly to kill a tentacle that had risen from the floor beside him, "and I don't think he's just going to stand around and let us bypass him. He certainly didn't let Enhance past."

He lifted his hand, stretched his fingers, and gave it a long stare.

"... Guess I do have one idea, though."

"Then damn well act on it!" Shouted Strout.

Shiki closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and felt organs he had not used in years whir to life. He had no idea how much energy this would take - he'd only done it by accident before - so he channeled as much power through his magic circuits as he was capable of.

His hand glowed faintly blue.

"Oh, hell no. You are not doing _that _-" shouted Ciel, realising just what DEATH was planning.

"Sorry," muttered DEATH to himself, choosing not to acknowledge Ciel's rebuke, "I know I said I'd let you rest, but you understand, right? Thank you, Maiko."

And then he plunged his hand into his chest.

Black liquid spewed forth, flooding out like a raging river. Within instants it had covered the whole floor.

"What?" The face in the wall had emerged again, brow knitted in confusion, "What is this?"

And then, just as monsters had surged forth from the flesh, countless beasts burst out of the black. Lions, tigers, crows, and fantastical creatures of all kinds rampaged, tearing apart the flesh and crushing it between gnashing teeth.

"This is..! Chaos!? I don't understand. This is impossible!" Exclaimed the face in the wall, shortly before it was eaten by a monstrous sandworm.

It quickly reformed elsewhere, and continued to splutter in confusion and rage - for a moment, before three jet-black sharks tore it apart.

It did not appear again.

At the centre of the maelstrom, knelt a teenage girl. She wore her hair short, and was wrapped in a fully-buttoned trenchcoat that seemed to bind her almost like a straitjacket.

Her hands were shaking.

"I- I- I can't keep it under control any longer! I… no! Just another second! Just until... Not until… Argh!" She screamed.

And suddenly the black storm vanished, all sucked back into the girl's body. With it had gone every last trace of the mass of vampiric flesh, leaving only the dark stone beneath.

The girl fell over forwards, convulsing. Shapes underneath her trenchcoat struggled furiously as if trapped beneath.

DEATH knelt beside her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. He drew his knife, and raised it.

For a moment, the girl grew still. Her skin began to turn grey, and her entire body began to transform, growing monstrous and enormous.

"Let's make sure it sticks this time, hey?" She said in a shaky, distorted voice.

"Yeah. I'm a lot stronger now than I was back then, and I know how to use my eyes better. This time, I'll be sure nothing of the chaos survives. Thank you for the help, Maiko. Rest properly this time, okay?"

"Yeah. Thank you, too. For everything. I hope you find what you're looking for here. If you didn't, that'd just be… too sad. At least, you should live long enough to see _her _face again. And then I'll see you on the other side, okay? In heaven."

DEATH laughed.

"You really think that's where I'm going to end up?"

"Certain of it. Goodbye, Shiki."

"Bye, Maiko."

And then he stabbed her in the stomach. And again in the head. And in her shoulders, and thighs, and side, again, and again, and again.

The Chaos crumbled away, and DEATH lurched forward, clutching his chest.

"Dammit," he groaned.

"You idiot!" Shouted Ciel, whacking him lightly on the head, "What were you _thinking _? You could've killed us all! … You could've killed yourself."

DEATH laughed weakly, "I didn't, though. And now we don't have to worry about Nrvnqsr running wild after I die. See how neatly this all ties up? If only life was always this convenient."

"You idiot!" Ciel repeated, absolutely furious with worry, "look at you! How much of your chest did you just lose? Are you even going to survive that?"

"Ah, no problem. Probably cut a pretty big chunk off the time I've got left, but… I didn't have much of that anyway."

"..." Ciel fell into an uncomfortable, melancholy silence.

"Anyway, better keep moving. Hey, Strout! I see a hatch on the ceiling, think you can reach it?"

Strout wordlessly reached up and grabbed the hatch's handle and pulled. As the hatch opened, a ladder fell down.

On the other side, they found Enhance standing over the shattered remains of the armour worn by the castle's knights.

"What took you? Thanks for keeping that thing busy while I got past, tho'," he said nonchalantly, twirling his sword.

Ciel rolled her eyes and sighed.

* * *

The penultimate floor of the tower was wide, wider even than the rest of the tower below it. The walls were more window than stone, and moonlight shone through freely. A large chandelier hung from the centre of the ceiling.

At the centre stood thirteen vampires. Tall, almost emaciated, wearing pale masquerade masks of varying designs, clad in fine black clothing, and with equally fine black hair. Some were male, some were female, and a few were too androgynous to tell.

"Number Nineteen, I guess. Right?" Asked DEATH.

One of the vampires on the left nodded.

"That is so. Eldred Acheron Scarfolk, at your service," said another, beside her.

"I get the whole unlucky number thing, but why not nineteen of you? You know, to match your number. Couldn't round up enough good bodies?"

"Unfortunately so," confirmed the vague voice of one of the vampires at the back, "had I the means, I would be hundredfold. But so few of you humans are suitable to become me. The process is… how to put it… a little more than most can take. But you, I think, would make a fine addition to me. Oh, yes, I'd certainly love to have those beautiful eyes of yours…"

"Thanks, but no thanks," laughed DEATH.

A black key nailed one of the vampires in the front straight through the head. As he fell over backward, he dissolved into mist, and the remaining twelve scattered.

The mist drifted above the chandelier, and immediately reformed into a slightly different human figure than it had been before.

"I see. Shall we get started, then?" He said.

And immediately, the thirteen vampires descended on the hunters like hawks. Three jumped at DEATH, who slid under them. Two brought their claws down on Ciel, who responded in kind, black keys held between her fingers like enormous talons. Two rushed Enhance, and passed as mist through the buckshot from his shotgun, then weaved around his sword. Three surrounded Strout, and were shortly cut down, only to dissolve into mist, reform, and attack again. The remaining three rained magical fire down from afar wherever on all their foes.

Sitting on a windowsill, Altrouge watched with a mysterious smile on her face.

DEATH leapt and danced across the room, appearing and disappearing, kicking off the walls, and cutting any vampire in arm's reach apart with his knife. He fought carefully, striking only rarely. He was only human, and growing weak at that; it would take only one or two good hits to bring him down. And so he kept moving and did not allow himself to be hit. His eyes blazed an unnatural blue as he slid under bolts of fire and weaved around the claws.

One good hit was also all he needed to bring down his opponents. They, equally as much as he, were aware of this, and did not allow themselves to be hit. Every time he chanced a swing of his knife, he would meet only mist. Not that he couldn't kill mist, of course, but the points of death vanished and shifted as the vampires did - it would take quite a stroke of luck to pierce one point while aiming for another.

Strout fought like a colossus. His feet moved little; he did not bother to dodge, but merely took each hit and kept going. His arms, however, did not stop moving at all. His sword was swung in great sweeping motions that ensured anything that came near tasted the demonic steel of Neardark.

However, just as his foes could not harm him, neither could he harm them. Each one merely faded to mist as he struck, and while the mist would be cleft in two, it was still mist, and would inevitably return as a whole.

Enhance moved and struck like lightning. He rushed from one place to another, carving his enemies apart with his sword and jamming his shotgun down their throats and pulling the trigger. At first, he seemed to be seeing as little success as Strout, but slowly, it became evident that the holy power of his shotgun was wearing away at Scarfolk's bodies. Even as the bullets passed through the mist, the holy power burned it away. Each time they reformed afterwards, the body was a little more misshapen. Not by much, however; it might weaken Scarfolk, but it would take too long to kill them all this way.

Ciel kept back from the fighting, jumping away and bouncing off the walls, sometimes alighting on the chandelier and dodging away just as fast. All the while, she hurled black key after black key at Scarfolk's bodies, some that burned, some that petrified, some that pinned them by their shadows. Like Enhance, she, too was wearing them down. A little quicker, even. Though each black key was quickly dodged, deflected, or shattered, the holy light behind each one burned away at the vampires, pieces of them remained stone, the mist was ripped apart by the pieces bound to their shadows, and the fire stuck to them even as they turned to mist and floated away.

As she passed one of the casters, Ciel grabbed him by the foot. Alarmed, the vampire immediately made to burn her hand away, but before he could finish his aria, he was hurled away towards one of the windows. Transforming into mist and reforming, he slowed himself down enough to stop just in front of the window, and quickly began to cast bolts of fire at Ciel. He was so focused on her, in fact, that he failed to notice DEATH descending from the wall above him until there was a knife in his back. He had barely enough time to realise what had happened before he collapsed into dust.

Instantly, another was upon DEATH, slashing at him with wicked claws. He vanished like a mirage, and the vampire turned to see him kicking off the wall and leaping over her. Her eyes traced his path, and she had been about to pursue him when Enhance's face filled her vision.

"Hey now, darling, don't you go forgetting about little old me," he laughed as he drove his sword into her chest.

"Fool," she muttered, driving herself further down the sword and clawing at his eyes, before quickly fading to mist and vanishing.

Enhance merely smirked, utterly unharmed.

She reformed behind him, and prepared to drive her claws into his heart, only to be divided in two by Strout's sword. Her split halves quivered and almost turned again into mist, but DEATH, appearing again as if from nowhere, was faster, and instead she crumbled to dust.

Seeing two of their number dead so quickly, the remaining eleven took a more careful tack. Each one vanished into mist, but rather than reforming, the most press and filled the room, choking it in a thick cloud through which nothing at all could be seen.

Somewhere in the distance, thunder boomed and lightning struck. The sound of a sudden rainstorm drown out all else.

DEATH smiled and raised his knife. With all eleven remaining vampires together as one, it would be a simple matter to kill them all. He narrowed his eyes, found the point of death, and charged at it.

… or so he tried. The mist impeded his movement as much as his vision, clinging to him and holding him down. It felt as if we're trying to run on the sea floor.

"Damn it! You know, Dead Apostles aren't even supposed to be able to do the mist thing like that. Isn't that cheating a little bit?"

A horrible laugh composed of eleven voices sounded from everywhere at once.

The grip of the mist on DEATH's body tightened and began to lift him off the ground.

He could see the point of death. It was almost within reach. Damn it! He struggled and strained, reaching out his arm as best he could.

For a split second, the grip of the mist lightened and slipped away, and in that brief moment, he almost reached it.

Almost.

The mist slammed into him like a solid wall, the impact hurling him away like a ragdoll.

He flew towards the window and landed in a small pool of water. The blow had left him dazed and wracked with pain. At least a few bones were broken, he was sure. He lay there, in the water, groaning, eyes screwed shut.

Wait.

Water?

He opened his eyes.

By all rights, he ought to have been sent flying out the window and plummeting to his death. But a strange screen of water had formed in the window, and as he passed through it, it had brught him to a stop and kept him from going any further.

And there, rising from the water, coalescing from the salt, was the unmistakable form of the Dead Apostle known by the unflattering title of Water Bottle; sun-browned skin, wavy brown hair, watery red eyes, flushed face, and soaked to the bone all over.

She landed on her feet and wobbled a little, drunk as ever.

"Sorryyyy'm late," slurred Sumire, "how ya been, kid? Y'good? Been missin' ya. Haven't met up since Aylesbury, right?"

"Ah, yeah, it has been a while. But, uh, maybe we should be dealing with the problem at hand, first?" DEATH responded awwardly.

Sumire stared blankly at the mist for a moment, then squinted.

"Um. Yeah. Okay. Hey, after we're done here, wanna hit the pub t'getherrrrr or somethinnnn?"

One of Scarfolk's bodies appeared out of the mist.

"Water Bottle. I can't say I appreciate your interference. Do us all a favour and scurry off back to your little hole under the ocean, would you?"

"Nah," she responded.

"Very well then. You'll see oblivion with the rest, then," said Scarfolk, fading back into the mist.

"Nah," said Sumire again.

The mist closed in on her, wrapping itself around her limbs, lifting her into the air, and applying a crushing pressure to her that would've squished any human like a grape.

Sumire barely reacted.

She raised one hand, unhindered at all by the mist, in an unsteady, drunken motion. Then she clenched her fist.

The mist, in less than an instant, retracted into a small sphere at the centre of the room.

"Therrrrre ya goooo. All yours, kid!"

DEATH stepped forwards. Scarfolk was held in place, absolutely still, by the power of Sumire's Marble Phantasm. It wouldn't have worked, if only he hadn't been mist. The oceans and seas and indeed all waters were Sumire's domain, over which she commanded ultimate power. She couldn't do much to the flesh and blood of humans and vampires, but mist? Mist was easy for her.

DEATH couldn't help but laugh.

He drew his knife, raised it up, and brought it down.

The mist vanished, returning to flesh and bone, and then instantly crumbling to dust.

Sumire applauded.

* * *

DEATH stood beneath a window in the treasury, leaning against the wall and dangling a tiny glass bottle between his fingers. This little tincture… it might just be the cure to Arcueid's bloodlust. Or it might not.

No way to know until he tried.

But…

It didn't look like he was going to be able to be there for it.

He'd known it from the moment he'd put his blindfold back on and still been able to see the lines.

His body felt like lead, and keeping his eyes open required a Herculean effort.

He slid down the wall and fell to the ground. What little strength he'd had left in his legs had abandoned him.

As he sat there, he heard the beating of wings behind him. He hadn't the strength to look up and see what had just perched on the windowsill, but he didn't need to, either.

"Jeez," he muttered, "if I'd known you were showing up tonight, I'd have just stayed home and let you handle it."

Gransurg Blackmore said nothing in response.

"Hey. Can you get this," DEATH asked, nodding at the bottle in his hand, "back to her? You want her cured as much as I do, right?"

Wordlessly, Blackmore reached down, plucked the bottle from DEATH's grasp, and vanished into the night.

"Ah… this is it, isn't it? Damn it… I wish I could've seen her, one last time…"

He heard the sound of footsteps on stone approaching.

"Oh my, oh my," muttered Altrouge, "What a show you've put on for me, Shiki. A wonderful little tragedy. But I can't help but think, perhaps it needn't be so sad as this. How depressing would it be if you died right here? No, that wouldn't do at all. One last favour to my dear sister, yes?"

The air rippled and changed as Altrouge summoned up her Reality Marble. The stone of Scarfolk's castle faded, replaced by the ancient rocks of the Millenium Castle.

Shiki Tohno forced his eyes open.

He was sitting on the floor of the throne room. On the throne in front of him, the woman he had given everything for was stirring from her sleep.

"Arcuied…" he whispered.

"Well," said Altrouge quietly, "I'll be taking my leave now. You two… I wish you the best, as much good as that will do. I hope you're satisfied with the life you've had, Shiki."

"Yeah… yeah, I really am. Thanks, Altrouge."

"Don't mention it," she said, walking away.

With no small degree of effort, Shiki forced himself to his feet, and stepped up to the throne. Arcueid, now awoken, did not even stop to say anything as she grabbed him and pulled him into a kiss.


End file.
